Teachers' concepts of musical talent and nurturing musical ability: music learning as exclusive or as opportunity for all?

In recent years, there has been a shift in terminology used to describe gift and talent. This has resulted in widespread adoption of the term high ability to describe more able pupils. This shift has promoted a more inclusive ethos in terms of the concept of encouraging talent development, but it has also highlighted tensions between teachers’ more inclusive approaches to nurturing talent and the concept of identifying talent. This issue is particularly relevant to music teaching where musical ability is often identified through specific aptitude tests. This article discusses a small-scale study that explored the perceptions of music teachers and instructors (n = 35) about musical ability and how it might best be nurtured in school pupils and conservatoire students. By comparing the views of participants with findings from the research literature, it is suggested that musical ability should be developed by taking an inclusive approach to music learning, focusing on providing enriching music activities for all children.